1984 Chevrolet K-10 4x4 Pickup on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Weekly Recap: Racing legend Jim Hall explains Chevy's futuristic Chaparral concept

"I said our cars are built to be winners." – Jim Hall Racing legend Jim Hall never thought he'd be a video game consultant, but when Chevrolet asked for his advice to create a futuristic Chaparral for the Vision Gran Turismo series, he was eager to help. He reviewed early sketches and suggested some changes that made it onto the concept, including the addition of a camera that's mounted onto a mast over the cabin to aid the driver. The Chevy Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept was revealed this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show and will be part of a downloadable update for PlayStation 3's Gran Turismo 6 in December. Theoretically, at least, it uses a laser-beam propulsion system and an air-powered generator to produce 900 horsepower in the video game. It's capable of sprinting to 60 miles per hour in 1.5 seconds en route to a top speed of 240 mph. Those gaudy performance specs – even in the virtual world – came at Hall's urging. "I said our cars are built to be winners," Hall told Autoblog on the floor of the Los Angeles show. The 79-year-old drove Lotus racecars in Formula One before launching the successful Chaparral Cars in the 1960s. Like his innovative Can-Am racers, the Vision Gran Turismo project has an eye toward the future. It also introduces the iconic Chaparral name to a new generation of fans, and hopefully, Hall says, gets them excited about engineering and design. "It emulates what we did in the '60s," he said. And what they did back then still resonates. Chaparral Racing and Chevy partnered more than 45 years ago for development work on the composite monocoque chassis, lightweight alloy powertrains, automatic gearboxes and active aerodynamics. "He [Hall] walked right back into this and was able to apply thinkings and learnings," said Clay Dean, General Motors executive director of advanced design. The Chevy Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept was created at GM's North Hollywood advanced design studio, and it will be on display at the show through November. Other News and Views Sebastian Vettel joins Ferrari team in 2015 Ferrari confirmed that four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel will join the Scuderia for the 2015 season, jettisoning Ferrari's current ace, two-time champ Fernando Alonso. Vettel has been F1's most successful driver since Michael Schumacher, though he's struggled to match his previous accomplishments in 2014.

2015 Chevrolet Silverado Custom glitzes up volume model [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The original prices listed in Chevrolet's press release did include destination charging, despite not being specifically called out as such. We've edited the story to reflect this. The Chicago Auto Show's reputation as the home of special edition debuts grows stronger today, as Chevrolet is complementing the news that it'd unveil the Silverado Midnight Edtion and Colorado GearOn special editions in the Windy City with the debut of the Silverado Custom. And yes, it's different than the higher-spec Custom Sport that debuted just last month in Detroit. What's so custom about the Silverado Custom, you ask? Well, not a whole lot. The new truck is based on the popular Silverado LS Double Cab, and adds, among its most noteworthy features, a set of 20-inch, five-spoke wheels. From there, chrome is the order of the day, with shinier front and rear bumpers, mirror caps and door handles. The top portion of the front bumper, which is finished in black plastic on the standard LS, is matched to the body color on the Custom model. Standard LS interior features, like the 4.2-inch MyLink system with 4G LTE wireless internet, 40/20/40 cloth front seats, remain in place on the Custom, while it's a similar story with the powertrain. Choices below the sheetmetal will force buyers to choose between a 5.3-liter V8 or a standard 4.3-liter V6, and two- or four-wheel drive. Chevy is pricing a V8-equipped Silverado Custom 4x2 at $33,820 (including $1,195 in destination charges). Adding four-wheel drive brings the price up at $37,800, although as we said, selecting the 4.3-liter V6 will yield a more affordable Custom. Check out the full press release on the newest member of the Silverado clan, available below. 2015 Silverado Custom: Back to Basics, with Style $33,820 starting price for a well-equipped double-cab V-8 CHICAGO – Chevrolet takes aim at the heart of the pickup market with the Silverado Custom, which offers Chevy Truck capability and dependability in a stylish package, priced within reach of many truck customers. "The economic recovery has led to booming sales of high-end pickups like the Silverado High Country," said Sandor Piszar, marketing director for Chevy Trucks. "But there are also millions of customers in the heart of the market who want a great looking, well-equipped truck at an affordable price.

Chevrolet donates 300 vehicles damaged by Sandy to help train first responders

Super Storm Sandy took out a lot of automobiles in its path of destruction through the Northeast last October. The number surpassed 250,000 at last count, and a few of those were owned by Chevrolet - cars either sitting on dealership lots or waiting at port to be shipped off. Rendered unsellable by the water damage inflicted by Sandy, these vehicles were facing the crusher. But Chevy didn't send them there.
Instead, Chevy had a better idea: It will be donating 300 of these vehicles damaged by Sandy to help train first responders at Guardian Centers in Perry, GA. Chevy is the official automotive partner of Guardian Centers, which is an 830-acre facility that trains first responders in disaster preparedness. Junked cars are practically a consumable commodity there, where a full-size cityscape simulator gives trainees an entire urban center in which to train for all sorts of rescue operations and disaster scenarios.
Chevy says its particular vehicles will be used "in conjunction with role players for wide area searches, traffic congestion in emergency situations, counter terrorism, public order and mass casualty exercises." While grim scenarios all, we're certainly glad there are people out there preparing for the unexpected. While a zombie apocalypse isn't officially on the list of potential disasters to prepare for, when the virus hits, we'll be hot-footing it to Perry, GA to hang with these guys and gals.